Born Bad: The Story of Gothena Chapter 10: Catharsis and Denouement
by JeffEllis
Summary: The confrontation doesn't end as expected and the future holds new possibilities.


Born Bad: The Story of Gothena Chapter 10: Catharsis and Denouement

In Darkness Dwell

The life and dark times of Gothena, a villain in the DC Universe

Chapter 10: Catharsis and Denouement

Lex looked at the medical report Mercy handed him. "Sir, it's done. Project Serendipity is complete and functioning."

In a special lab at the Science Spire, the doctors worked diligently to put the final touches on the rebuild of Agent Serendipity before Lex arrived. Even with their advanced cybernetic technology enhanced by the stolen Braniac tech, this had been a difficult project.

They had done this a few times before but never with a test subject that had so much damage and had been dead as long as this one was when delivered and never with this level of augmentation. They worked for weeks on the rebuild. Phase one was simply to restore life support to the brain and nervous system and regenerate the necrotic damage.

Once that was done and they were sure the brain was functioning again, they started the actual build. Once they finished, what they had was an amalgam of technologies cobbled together by complex programming and circuitry. Calculator even wrote some of the code to help overcome certain issues bridging Lexcorp cybernetics and Braniac union technology.

Lex arrived at the lab a few minutes later. The project coordinator took him to the lab immediately. Lex looked over the construct. The man started going over the project, sounding very pleased with it. "It contains a micro-atomic core, ablative plating, energy beam transmitters, is completely bridged in to the union control matrix and..." Lex stopped him. "I'm aware of the specifications of the project. I designed it. Now, turn it on."

The man walked over to a console and spoke into a microphone. Over the loudspeakers could be heard "Starting primary boot up. System coming online. Prepare suppression systems in case of malfunction." A number of heavily armed and armored Lexcorp security personnel took up positions facing it and several large lasers turned in its direction. The thing stood up. What was once Agent Serendipty was now a foot taller, many times his original mass and from the outside looked like a souped up Lexcorp gladiator bot with more weapons and armor.

The thing detached from the alcove it was in and walked towards Lex. It spoke in a voice reminiscent of Braniac drones. "Cyber Reaver 001 designation Serendipity. Online and awaiting commands." Lex looked up at it. "Activate Operation Babysitter." The machine responded. "Designation Luthor, Lex. Prime coordinator. Authorization received and acknowledged. Operation Babysitter activated. Primary command: Protect the Progeny."

John stared at the screen. A heart. She was leaving roses at each crime scene. What the Hell was her game? This was more than just out of character for her. Maybe that was her game. Was she trying to throw him off? No. She was too wild for that. Was she in love with him? After one night together followed by him assaulting her? No, not likely. Curious. Very curious. This was going to be an interesting day.

"I'll get ready to head to the location" said Zatanna. "No. Sit. Wait a while and let her stew a bit. She knows I'll come and she'll wait. I want her to have plenty of time to think and start questioning her decision to provoke a confrontation. Doubt can defeat you as easy as a weapon can and I want a bit more time to think about this."

He continued to stare at the screen. Maggie had sent them all the photographic evidence they had. He stared at the pictures and paged through them repeatedly. Zatanna was starting to get bored. "How many times are you going to look at those?" He didn't take his eyes off the screen. "Until I've examined them fully." He paged through them a few more times then stopped.

"There you are. You're the reason for the roses." Zatanna looked at the screen. He zoomed in on some scratches on the stem. "What am I looking at?" she asked. "I'm surprised she knew this. This is an antiquated language. It's no surprise the police dismissed it as incidental scuff marks on the stems" he said. She looked at him. "And that means?" "Look at the scratches. They are a very old dialect of Greek. I'm guessing mommy taught her little girl her native language. It will take some time to translate, I only know a few characters myself and we need to get more images of the roses so we don't miss any characters. Not every rose has a visible character in the shots we have but I'll bet they all have them."

Zatanna thought a moment. "I think I can get a translator for you just get the images." They spoke with Maggie and had her send them an image of every rose showing the marks. Zatanna brought up a comm to the Watchtower. "Hi Kal. Is Dianna there? We need someone who speaks Greek. Old Greek. Like Circe old Greek." Dianna came to the monitor. "Hi Zatanna, what do you need?" He sent her ten of the images. The 11th one was a heart. Dianna looked at them. "They're numbers. Ten single digits. 0355556789"

John laughed. Zatanna and Dianna both seemed unaware of the joke. "Didn't either of you turn on a radio in the 80s?" Zatanna looked at the sequence. "Oh my god. Really? Is that what I think it is?" John laughed again. "Yes. The only question is will it actually work?" Dianna was looking frustrated. "Would someone let me in on the joke?" Zatanna laughed at her. John continued "The heart must just be the answer to the pattern in case it couldn't be determined." Zatanna added "Or she's just an obsessed psycho."

Dianna was still in the dark. "Please, tell me what I'm missing here." John laughed again. "I guess you have an excuse. If you're old enough to speak that language native you're too old to enjoy pop music. It's a song about a telephone number. 867-5309. I guess 555 is the area code." Zatanna asked "Does that even work? I thought that was just for movies and television?" John took out his phone. "Thank you Dianna, we'll keep you up to speed."

John set his phone on the table, turned on the speaker and dialed. The ringtone on the other end was Jenny. "Are you kidding me?" said Zatanna. After a couple of rings, the phone was answered. "John, is that you? You got my message. Are you going to come play with me?" "Yes, I'm going to come play but if you went through the trouble of giving me your number then I assume you wanted me to call you first" he said.

"You guessed right. So tell me lover boy, are you looking forward to another intense meeting?" She heard something in the background. "John, do you have me on speaker phone? Naughty boy. Maybe we should do phone sex for their entertainment?" She heard Zatanna make a gag sound. "Oh is that my best friend Zatanna? Hi Zatanna! When are we going to hang out again?You, John and I can have some real fun." Zatanna was agitated at this. "Listen you little tramp, if you think John for one minute..." Gothena interjected. "Oh it wasn't one minute. It was a long time. That man has stamina." Zatanna glared at John but said nothing. "Oh, didn't lover boy tell you?" laughed Gothena.

Zatanna was turning red from anger. Gothena broke the silence after a moment. "Zatanna, don't be angry, you're still my best friend forever and best friends wouldn't hurt each other or let other people hurt them." Zatanna shook her head and grabbed at it like she was in pain. John jumped up and went over to her. "Zatanna, are you okay? What's wrong?" Zatanna continued to claw at her temples for a moment then stopped, as if nothing was wrong and looked at John. She said, her voice somehow different. "What's wrong is you're trying to hurt my best friend and I can't allow that."

Fire flew from her hands and hit him in the chest. He was singed but had strong enough wards to keep it from doing any serious damage. "Zatanna what the Hell is wrong with you?" he yelled. Zatanna's face was expressionless. "She's my best friend. I must protect my best friend." John was deflecting her spells, not attacking back. "Zatanna snap out of it. She's done something to your mind." She continued to attack him and he continued to defend but not fight back.

He danced around the room avoiding her attacks. The room was burning and burning fast. She was not using her full abilities of that he was sure, probably due to whatever was controlling her. He continued to try to avoid her but it was becoming apparent he couldn't. At least she wasn't at full strength like this. He tried to put her to sleep but it wasn't working. Her mind was too clouded for anything like that. Fine. He conceded this would have to end in violence. He didn't want to hurt her but it had come to that.

He was also starting to get tired. Even weakened she was a powerful sorceress and it was starting to take its toll on him. He finally got a break thanks to the fire. A piece of the ceiling came down and landed on her, knocking her down. She was still trying to attack him even though she was pinned and the fire approaching her. He looked down at her. "Sorry love. This is gonna hurt when you have your senses back." He hit her hard in the jaw and she slumped down. He pulled the wood off of her and dragged her out. The building was quickly going up in smoke. He took out his phone and called someone to get Zatanna and the fire dept to handle the blaze.

Circe was shocked. "You did what?" Lex remained seated and calm. "I told you had my own contingencies and Agent Serendipity was one of them. When he died, I brought him back, more or less, and enhanced him. I made him a guardian to keep her safe. It will follow at a distance, remain stealthed at all times and only activate if it perceives she is in mortal danger." She was getting angrier by the second. "So some toy soldier with a few lines of code and heavy weaponry is going to keep her safe?"

Lex handed her a folder with the specs of the Cyber Reaver. "I would hardly call it a toy soldier. It's a top of the line cybernetic machine incorporating a human brain as its command and control module. I would never let a machine make decisions regarding my own family. I even chose one with a personal connection to help ensure her safety." "And what happens when something goes wrong?" she said. "You mean if" was his reply. "No. I mean when. I don't misspeak."

Lex replied coolly "Then I hit the kill switch. Literally. It has a small circuit wired to the brain and it can be shut down at any point with a button. I have one, the project head has one and now you have one. Once triggered, the device will overload and shut down the brain and teleport it to a secure holding facility." He handed her a small device that looked like a cell phone. It had a screen and a sliding panel. He continued. "That screen will give you a constant feed of it's visual receptors as well as an ongoing feed of it's system parameters and her vital signs through the chip we put in her when she was born."

"If something goes wrong, then open that panel, push the button and use voice code 'Operation Babysitter terminated authorization Circe' and that will shut it down. It will scan your eye and follow the same security procedure we use here at Lexcorp. It is linked up to my satellite network and that feed will work anywhere on this planet or the moon." Circe seemed to calm somewhat. "All this for one girl?" He looked coldly at her. "No. All of this for a Luthor." Circe added "Just don't ever tell her you call it Operation Babysitter. I don't think she'll be happy about that. And by the way, your timing is fortuitous. She went after Constantine today."

Dr. Fate took the still knocked out Zatanna to a nearby Sentinel base to start the process of breaking whatever had been done to her mind. John took out his phone and called Gothena again. "Johnny! I'm so happy to hear from you. How are things going?" was her bubbly reply. "What the hell did you do to Zatanna?" he said his anger palpable. "Whatever do you mean? I didn't do anything. She's my best friend and best friends look out for each other" she said laughing. He hung up and headed towards their rendezvous.

She smiled to herself. He was angry. He was down an ally and the Sentinels in general were off guard now. Many would be focused on Zatanna not on her and John. It was working. She looked at the vacant lot. It was covered in debris and provided a lot of cover and ambush points for her summoned minions. She knew the area much better than he did. Not long after her rebirth, Circe had her do some errands here taking out a small gang that was trying to muscle in on a restaurant she owned. She had the advantage of terrain, surprise, had her target off guard and emotional and removed some of his major allies from play. Win or lose, she hoped Lex and Circe would be proud of her strategy.

John was pissed. Mad didn't describe it. He wasn't the calmest person to begin with and Circe was right. He did care for Zatanna and was just forced to hurt her. It was time to end this. He walked to the location. It was several blocks away and wouldn't take long. He was almost boiling over when he arrived. He walked into the middle of the lot and screamed "Come out. Let's end this." He heard her laugh. It didn't come from any specific direction but echoed from all around him. He yelled again. "Parlor tricks don't scare me. I could do that by the time I was in kindergarten."

She laughed again. "How about something that's not a parlor trick?" her voice echoed out. A force cage sprung up around him. He felt like an idiot. In his rage, he didn't even bother to look for traps. The runes must have been covered with dirt and he just walked right into it. He tried a few spells but it was in vain. The cage was holding. Her voice was heard again. "Oh come now John. Surely you can get out of a little cage? Don't tell me this is over already."

He noticed the ground under him starting to crack and smoke rise. It was getting hotter. Through some of the cracks he could see the red-orange glow of molten earth. "John, as a little boy did you ever play the floor is lava? Well, today you're playing for real. That cage will hold you but it's not heat proof. How do you think a few thousand degrees will feel?" She laughed again.

He calmed down and relaxed his mind and let the Adrenalin of the fight take him. His anger was clouding his judgement. He focused his energy and the cage dissipated. He channeled some energy to augment his agility and jumped just in time to avoid the collapse under him. He was sweating profusely and his boots were singed and smoking but he was otherwise unharmed.

He heard her clap softly. "Very good John, I bet you were good at this game as a kid. Do British kids even play games or just sit around drinking tea and learning to work at the stock market?" He was trying to focus in on her actual location. She was here. That voice augmentation was magical not mechanical, he could tell the difference and it was originating from somewhere nearby. She did her prep work well though. The area was laced with runes that helped obfuscate the energies.

There were several of the lava pools now. He had to be careful. She was in new territory here. Her usual methods were more brutal and erratic. He continued to try to focus in on the strongest source of magic in the location. That would be her when he found it. He moved slowly across the lot. There were piles of rubble and pieces of buildings everywhere. He heard movement and turned in that direction.

Demons. She summoned demons. Trigonic rage demons from the looks of them. Silly girl. Demons were a specialty of his, this would pose no challenge. They came from multiple directions and surrounded him. This would only take a few minutes to banish them. As he worked his way through the horde of demons, something charged him. It caught him in the back and he flew across the ground, landing roughly and hurting badly. The demons were on him in a second.

He got up and away from the demons and finished clearing them. Then he saw what hit him. A beastiamorph. Damn. Those couldn't just be banished and they looked strong. Her voice boomed out again. "Johnny, you should know basic stage magic, Zatanna is your sweetheart after all. Misdirection is one of the seven principles." He was taking a beating but managed to overcome them. He was breathing heavily and surrounded by every growing pools of lava. He was in pain and had a number of injuries but was still standing.

Her heard her voice again, this time from a single direction. He turned and she stood on a small pile of debris. "Hi John. I got bored watching you play alone and thought it was time I joined the game." He looked at her. She was not the same woman he met weeks ago. She was focused. Her mannerisms were the same but her actions told a different story. Recent events woke her up and she was ready. He prepared himself. This wasn't going to be as easy as he originally thought.

She didn't even wait for him to respond before she was on him. Blades and energy blasts were flying from both. He was wounded though and she had the advantage. She had done her research. Everything he threw at her she was prepared for. He had a few tricks of his own though. She was good and she was strong but she was still an amateur.

He summoned his own inner strength and channeled a shield. She hit him hard with a telekinetic blast and it reflected back at her launching her backwards into a corner of a crumbling building and through the wall. Rookie mistake. He waited. To go in blindly after her would be stupid. A few seconds later, the wall blew out and heavy chunks of stone flew in his direction. He avoided or shielded most of them.

"You could have stopped. I gave you time to rethink your actions. You could have disappeared. Now you've started a war. Regardless of who wins today, there will be retaliation and it will grow from there" John told her. "No. I could not. I am what I am. A monster cannot be anything other than a monster. You will have to kill me to stop me" she said calmly as she attacked again.

He was tired. He was hurt. He dreading the fallout from this but it had to be done. His skill and power was superior and she couldn't beat him. He knew it and soon she would. He brought up a shield and started firing spells at her. One after another, each different and requiring a different defense and she couldn't handle them all. She was completely on the defensive and losing quickly.

She was beaten. She was laying on the ground. Different elemental types, different energy types, some physical conjurations, some mystical emanations, she had no idea there was so much diversity possible. She had never fought a true master before and it showed. He prepared one final assault. "I'm sorry. I didn't want do this" he said and loosed the energy.

It hit her and disapated without a trace and left no visible effect. "That's impossible" he said. "There is no way you could defend against that. You're barely even conscious. How did you block pure white magic?" She looked at him, barely able to speak. "I didn't" she said and her head dropped back on the ground. He cast it again and again it had no effect.

He didn't know why it had no effect but it didn't matter. He returned to other spells that had worked up to that point. Something hit in the back and hurt. He looked around and saw a fury casting energy bolts at him.

While he was distracted by it, Pinky rushed over to Gothena and started healing her. "Pinky you shouldn't be here it's not safe." "Mistress is hurt and Pinky will make her better" said her loyal companion as she continued to heal her.

He dispatched the fury and returned his attention to Gothena. She was standing and smiling. Pinky was standing next to her. Gothena didn't look fully recovered but she was able to fight again and that was not good for the already weakened man.

As they started throwing energy blasts and spells again, this time the two women both attacking him, the sound of something big and heavy landing nearby grabbed all of their attention. Something blasted a pile of rubble and when the dust cleared, the Serendipity bot was in its place.

"Mission Protocol protect the Progeny. Imminent threat detected. Elimination authorization in effect" said the massive machine. John looked at Gothena. She shrugged. "It's not mine. I've never seen it before." It started firing at John. He managed to shield from attacks but it was relentless. John was facing off against three of them now and accepted even he was in over his head. He quickly summoned a portal and jumped through it as a huge rocket detonated where he was just a second before.

The machine turned towards Gothena. Her and Pinky both raised their shields and prepared to defend themselves against this new threat. It lowered its weapons and approached them. "Progeny secured. New parameter: Transport to progenitor" it said and all 3 teleported out.

John was at the Watchtower talking to Dianna. "I don't know what it was but it was big, heavily armored and said it was there to protect the progeny." She thought a moment. "I suspect it's something from Lexcorp. It sounds like he has a new model we need to be aware of. I'll notify the rest of the JLA to be on the lookout for a new and improved gladiator droid.

"That's not the most peculiar thing though" he said. "I had her beat and was using white magic to finish her. She seemed immune to it." Dianna stopped at this. "Immune? Her? Impossible. She's infused with demonic essence, she's committed atrocities, there is no way her soul qualifies as pure. Are you sure you weren't just hurt and miscasting?" "No. I'm certain. I'm not the most pure myself and it hurts to use that magic but it's the best thing against evil. There is no way she could be immune to that." He gasped. "Unless..."

Gothena was fine but Lex insisted on a medical checkup. Magical healing was good and well but he still wanted a medical doctor to give her a once over. After all the tests, she took a nap on a hospital bed. She was uninjured thanks to Pinky but she was exhausted.

A nurse came into the room. "Time to wake up. How do you feel?" she asked her. "I feel fine. I need to go. I have something I have to finish." The nurse smiled. "I'm sorry but Mr. Luthor left strict orders. You have to stay until he arrives and that should be any moment. He wants to see you before you leave."

Lex walked in a few minutes later. "How are you doing?" he asked. "Like I told the nurse, I'm fine. I have something I need to finish." Lex stopped her. "I would like to talk before you leave again. First, how do you like the new Agent Serendipity. He's the first in a new line of gladiator droids?" She looked shocked. "That was Serendipity? No. I killed him. I was there. I'm pretty sure that's how it happened." "It's part of him. I've assigned it to exclusively serve as your bodyguard for now since your ability to defend yourself will be somewhat diminished."

"Why would my ability to defend myself be diminished? I'm fine. Sure, I was losing that fight but I'm completely healed." He handed her a chart. "Read the highlighted portion" he ordered. Her eyes got very wide and her jaw dropped. "There is no way this is correct. They got the tests mixed up."

"Calm down. You should not get so excited in your condition" the nurse told her. "No. I don't have a condition. I'm not. It's not possible" Gothena said as she threw a tray at the wall. Circe walked in. She approached Gothena and took her hand. "Are you sure? Reach inside yourself. Feel your own life essence. Is there anything else there?"

Gothena closed her eyes. With Circe's guidance, she looked inside herself. At first it was difficult. She'd looked inside others before, like when pulling out their base nature to make a beastiamorph but she'd never looked inside herself. But eventually, she was able to focus and sure enough, there it was. It was faint and almost imperceptible but it was there. Another life energy that wasn't her own.

"Oh my god" she said and curled up in a fetal position. Circe looked down at her. "Is it his? Is he the father." Gothena nodded and started crying. Lex came over. "Is it whose? Tell me now" he said sounding like a cross between angry and concerned. Gothena looked at him, tears streaming. "John Constantine." Lex scowled. "Are you certain?" She nodded her head. "Yes. There's no other possibility." "What about Sinestro?" he asked. "No, the timing is off and the life is human. I would know if it wasn't." Lex looked at Circe. "She's right. We would know."

Several months passed. She continued to live at Lexcorp. Lex called her up to his office. "How are you doing?" She sat down. "I'm fine, all things considered" she said. "I asked you here because I think it's time you stopped sitting around moping all the time. You're a Luthor and like it or not that means you have responsibilities. It's time you joined the family business. I want to appoint you as CEO of a company I just bought." She looked across the desk at him.

"That's a fairly public move. What are people going to think if you announce me as head of a Lexcorp company?" "Don't be silly. I can't announce Gothena as head of a company. You're a wanted criminal. However, Lisa Luthor, long lost daughter recently reunited with her father who has no criminal background and an impeccable history crafted by the best forgers in the field would be a perfect addition to the Lexcorp corporate staff." She started crying. "Are you okay?" he asked. "It's just...I'm emotional from the pregnancy" she said.

Clark Kent was sitting in the main area of the Daily Planet's new offices. Lois came up to him and sat her laptop on his desk, almost knocking over his coffee. "Clark have you seen this? Can you believe it?" Clark pushed his glasses up and looked at the screen. There was a press release with the title "Lexcorp acquires KidTec and announces Lisa Luthor as new CEO."

Clark adjusted his glasses. "Huh. Well isn't that interesting. I didn't think business news was something you followed Lois." "That's not the part that matters. Lex has a daughter. Didn't you read it?" she said. "Well uh, Lois, you just showed me the article. I haven't really had time to read it" he told her. "Oh you're hopeless Clark. The story of the century could be right under your nose but you would never see it. Lex has been keeping secrets and if there is one thing I know, it's when someone is keeping secrets." He started reading the article and Lois took her laptop and returned to her desk. He smiled and went back to his work.

The press room at Lexcorp was overflowing. Mercedes was at the podium. "As I'm sure you're all aware the Luthor family has grown and will grow again soon. Recently, Mr. Luthor was reunited with a daughter he thought lost to him.

In addition, due to extenuating circumstances, Mr. Luthor has purchased KidTec and gave it to Lisa. Lisa is going to be a mother soon and KidTec has long been a leader in the field of providing for infant's and children's needs and he wants his granddaughter to have the best. Mr. Luthor asks that you do not invade the privacy of his daughter and all inquiries can be addressed to Lexcorp's press department. Lisa wants to come out and say hello but will not be answering questions.

Lisa Luthor walked out, looking nothing like her normal appearance. Her long black hair was replaced by shoulder length red hair the same color as Circe's. Her facial appearance was different and her glowing eyes replaced by normal blue eyes. Instead of her usual skimpy black and pink leather she was dressed in a business suit with maternity panels showing her well into her third trimester.

She walked up to the podium. "Thank you all for coming. I just want to say how happy I am to finally be reunited with my father. I'm excited and proud to be part of the Luthor family. I hope to continue the tradition of success and excellence my father has shown. I wish I had time for questions but I have very little energy lately and I'm sure you can understand why. I will post a Q&A on the website as time you again and if you'll excuse me, I need to rest."

The panel in the monitor womb was broadcasting the press conference. Dianna and several other members of the JLA were watching it. When it was over, Dianna spoke up. "So it looks like we can confirm Constantine's suspicions and why we haven't heard from her in so long. She's keeping a low profile. We can hope that continues after the baby is born." Batman looked at the screen. "Unlikely." Dianna continued. "When Zatanna sees this, you know what she's going to assume. I hope for his sake he stays on the other side of the Atlantic." Batman looked at her. "He won't.""

John sat at a pub in London watching the press conference on the tele. "I was right. She can change her face and hair but that's her. Barman, can I get another pint please?" The man sat down a beer and he downed it. "Ever been to Metropolis?" he asked the man behind the bar. "Can't say I have mate" he replied. "How about yourself?" "I've been a few times and looks like I have to go back. Just found out an old fling is up the pole" John told him and added "I'm going to need a pitcher mate."

John teleported onto the pool deck at Lexcorp tower. Agent Serendipity was standing guard on the pool deck and immediately turned to face him. "Unauthorized access. Termination protocols authorized." Gothena put down her book and spoke up. "Stand down Serendipity. Hold position and do not engage." The cyborg lowered his weapons and stood still. "Hi John. I was wondering how long it would take you to get here. The announcement was only a few hours ago."

"That's the robot that saved you" he said. "So I guess it was yours after all." "Technically it's daddy's but it's my bodyguard now and it's not a robot it's a cyborg. And as I recall, that fight was a bit more even when he showed up" she said, smiling. "Yea because you had that half dog twat come save you" he remarked. "Friends are good to have. I've come to realize that lately" she said, still smiling. "You should try it."

"I'll keep that in mind. There's a more important issue though. I assume you know why I'm here" he said, sitting down on a chair next to hers. "I can guess. You want to know if she is yours" she said while rubbing her abdomen. "The timing is right. It makes sense" he said. "You're off the hook John. Fortunately, she's not yours" she said. He sighed. "Are you being honest with me?" "I don't like you. Why would I care about lying to you?" she said.

"Okay then. Do me a favor. As you raise this child..." She stopped him. "No. That's none of your business. I don't want your advice, threats, recommendations, et cetera" she told him. "You need to leave." "Fine. But remember the Dark is out there. If you..." She cut him off again. "If we meet again, you're as likely to die as me. I've had a lot of free time lately and I've spent it studying. My abilities are greater than they were. Circe is a good teach and has a lot of powerful allies who are also good teachers and I've had nothing to but read, learn and study. I know you. I can predict you and if you push me, I will end you. You were able to access this deck because I allowed you. The wards won't let you pass a second time. Serendipity, hail Mary protocol."

Agent Serendipity grabbed him from the chair and threw him in the blink of an eye. He sailed through the air and she waved bye to him as he fell out of sight. She waved her hand and a series of runes flashed. A barrier formed around the pool deck. Serendipity returned to his post. She returned to her book. As she turned a page, she felt a contraction and ripped an arm off the chair as it hit her. She looked down at her abdomen, let out a deep breath and pressed a small button on her chair. "It's time."

Several years later, Gothena sat in the office of KidTec going over reports. Lex was on the speaker phone. "Quarterly numbers are good. The chipping program has already identified several children with meta abilities. The new accountant is fantastic. He works magic with the numbers" she said. "Good. He was a welcome addition. The rehabilitation program has been one of my better investments" replied Lex. "How are preparations for the banquet?" he said. "Everything is read. I hope you'll be there." she asked him. "I will" he said. "See you there" she said and the phone went dead.

The banquet hall was lavishly decorated and a live band was playing. Lois was trying her best to intercept Lisa. Lisa sighed and stopped. She couldn't avoid her forever, might as well get this over with. "Hi. Lois Lane, right? With the Daily Planet?" she said pretending she wasn't sure. "Hi Ms. Luthor. I have a few questions about the new foundation if you don't mind" she said with her recorder out.

"I'm sorry Ms. Lane, this is not a publicity event. This is fund raiser for orphans. If you want an interview, please submit a request to my press department and they will see what can be done" she told her. "I've done that. They keep telling me you're not available" Lois said. "Well I run a large company and a charitable organization and am raising a child alone. That does take most of my time."

Lois started to ask another question and was interrupted. A man with long black hair wearing an expensive business suit came up. "Hi, Lisa Luthor? I'm Sebastian Simpson. I just wanted to tell you how much I love what you're doing and was happy to make a large contribution to the foundation" said the man with a thick British accent. "Ms. Luthor, would you like to dance?" he said as he took her hand and walked towards the dance floor leaving Lois behind. "Mind if I lead?" he said.

"What are you doing here...Sebastian?" she said, the annoyance obvious. "Why I'm just here to see my daughter and I thought I would drop by this fabulous event while I was in town" he said smiling. "I told you, she's not your..." but he stopped her.

"This time I have the inside scoop, love. See a peculiar thing happened. Dianna came to me and said I had to go some island in Greece with her. I met this odd old bird who told me a few things. Looks like you did lie a bit" he told her. She sighed. "Okay, let's talk later. Not here and not now. Can you come by tonight and we'll have this conversation around midnight?" she asked him. "John will be there. In the meantime, Sebastian wants to dance some more" he said as they spun across the floor. "No" she said. "John will not be there but Sebastian is welcome to come by."

Lisa said "Why did they summon you for a prophecy about our daughter though and not me or both of us?" He laughed. "They didn't my dear. I didn't know she was my daughter until this dance. I heard about your own prophecy through Dianna. I don't know what it actually contained but I knew it happened. It seems all these old Greeks like to gossip and when a mortal, even one as powerful as Lex Luthor is allowed to enter a sacred oracle site, they tend to tell that story for a long time. It didn't take long for me to connect the dots. Circe visits her. He visits her. A year or so later, you're born to Circe. Now, that story gave me a good idea to get you to be honest either way and it worked. I'm sorry my dear but it had to be done." As they danced, she dug her spiked heel into his foot. He grimaced in pain, holding it in so as not to cause a scene. She whispered in his ear. "Sorry my dear but it had to be done."

She spent the next few hours talking with donors ranging from titans of industry to elected officials. The entire evening was spent in anticipation of a conversation she hoped she would never have. She no longer feared John by any stretch of the imagination. She was older, far more experienced and powerful and no longer a lackey. She had faced down the likes of Braniac and Trigon. She had gone toe to toe with Kryptonians and Green Lanterns. She was hardened and powerful. Her generation was becoming the powers that be. The old guard was falling fast with her and the other Children as the prophecy called them replacing the old heroes and villains. No, she had nothing to fear from John Constantine anymore.

She sat on the deck in the dark. Her wards were down so he could come. She had Lexcorp Security disable the lasers and other defenses on and near the pool deck so he wouldn't be killed on arrival. A small button on the underside of the arm of her deck chair would reactivate them immediately as would any rapid drop in her vital signs. Serendipity stood at his usual position. She didn't need it anymore but it made a good watchdog for Alexis when Lisa couldn't be there because of corporate needs or when Gothena had special business to attend to.

Some part of her almost wanted to feel sorry for whatever was left of Serendipity in that machine but then she remembered the pain he caused her and how smug he seemed testifying against her and smiled. Knowing he might be trapped inside his own mind, held behind firewalls and programming, nothing more than a ghost in the shell made her smile.

"Hi John, have a seat but maintain appearances. She's alseep but if she wakes I want her to see Sebastian and not John" she said to him as he came through a portal. "Why? What's wrong with John Constantine? He was good enough to be her father" he said.

"Because, she doesn't know your world or mine for that matter. She's never met Gothena and she won't until she's old enough to decide her own path. It will be the same with John. She will never meet him until she's old enough to choose. Sebastian, with no super powers or magic skills or anything odd is the only father I will let her know until then. If that's not good enough then leave now."

"Why?" he asked. "It doesn't seem like you. I've followed your career over the years. You've made a name in the Society. Your name, your real name, is spoken with fear and respect." Lisa looked up at the sky. "Because that should be a choice. I was never given one. I want her to be a child, not a villain in training. She is not going to have a life like other kids, obviously. Her family is one of the wealthiest on the planet. She is going to have body guards and chaperons most of her young life. Within those confines though, she is going to be free of our world. You can see her as often as we can make possible. Once you gain my trust, and that won't be easy, you can even have private time with her. You understand her bodyguards will always be with her of course and there is a very powerful machine that can stealth and teleport that always monitors her. Can you accept this?"

"I can. Eventually she is going to be made aware of who we are. What then?" he asked. "Then? Then we hope she's old enough to understand her choices and make her own. And Sebastian, don't think there is wiggle room here. This isn't a search for a loophole. If you betray your word, your suffering will be legendary and I'll personally delight in tormenting you if you destroy her innocence." He swallowed and thought a moment. "I accept your conditions" he said.

"Then I'll a security workup done for you so you can come in and have access to this suite and this suite only. Don't deviate or try to explore. This tower is very heavily armed and guarded. Sebastian doesn't use magic so he'll need the elevator. Come by Saturday afternoon and stop by security at the visitor's entrance and then come up and meet your daughter."


End file.
